U.S. patent application number 12/637571 was filed with the patent office on 2011-06-16 for method for obtaining information relating to a product, electronic device, server and system related thereto.
Invention is credited to Magnus Birch.
Application Number | 20110145108 12/637571 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43063634 |
Filed Date | 2011-06-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110145108 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Birch; Magnus |
June 16, 2011 |
METHOD FOR OBTAINING INFORMATION RELATING TO A PRODUCT, ELECTRONIC
DEVICE, SERVER AND SYSTEM RELATED THERETO
Abstract
The present invention relates to a method, an electronic device,
a server and a system to easily and quickly obtain product
information of a product selected by a user from a picture or
movie. The method for obtaining information comprises the steps
displaying at least one image to a user by a display section of
said electronic device; selecting a product by registering a
position on said display section associated with said product; and
retrieving product information from a storage section using said
registered position.
Inventors: |
Birch; Magnus; (Svedala,
SE) |
Family ID: |
43063634 |
Appl. No.: |
12/637571 |
Filed: |
December 14, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/27.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/532 20190101;
G06Q 30/0643 20130101; G06F 16/9577 20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/27.2 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/00 20060101
G06Q030/00 |
Claims
1. Method for obtaining information relating to a product to be
reproduced by an electronic device, comprising the steps displaying
at least one image to a user by a display section of said
electronic device; selecting a product by registering a position on
said display section associated with said product; and retrieving
product information from a storage section using said registered
position.
2. Method of claim 1, wherein said retrieving step comprises the
steps comparing said registered position with a previously stored
position associated with product information; and providing said
product information to said user, if said comparing step determines
that said registered position matches with said stored
position.
3. Method of claim 1, wherein said selecting step comprises the
step registering the time of selection and said position on said
display section associated with said product; and wherein said
retrieving step comprises the steps comparing said registered
position and time with a previously stored position and time
associated with product information; and providing said product
information to said user, if said comparing step determines that
said registered position and time match with said stored position
and time.
4. Method of claim 1, wherein said displaying step comprises
sequentially displaying a plurality of images to said user.
5. Method of claim 1, further comprising the step transmitting from
said electronic device said registered position or said registered
position and time to a server comprising said storage section.
6. Method of claim 1, further comprising the step receiving at said
electronic device said product information from a server comprising
said storage section.
7. Method of claim 5, wherein at least one of said transmitting
step and receiving step is performed via wireless
communication.
8. Method of claim 1, wherein said retrieved product information
comprises an internet address of a web site featuring said
product.
9. Method of claim 8, further comprising the step ordering said
product via said web site.
10. Electronic device for obtaining information relating to a
product, comprising a display section operable to display images to
a user of said electronic device; an input interface operable to
register a position on said display section associated with said
product selected by said user; and a communication section adapted
to transmit said registered position to a server comprising a
storage section storing product information and to receive product
information from said server using said registered position.
11. Server for providing information relating to a product,
comprising a receiving unit operable to receive a registered
position from an electronic device; a storage section operable to
store product information associated with a previously stored
position; a comparing unit operable to compare said received
registered position with said stored position associated with
product information; and a providing unit operable to provide
product information from said storage section if said comparing
unit determines that said received registered position matches with
said stored position.
12. System for obtaining information relating to a product to be
reproduced by an electronic device, comprising a display section
operable to display images to a user; an input interface operable
to register a position on said display section associated with said
product selected by said user; and a retrieving section operable to
retrieve product information from a storage section using said
registered position.
13. System of claim 12, wherein said retrieving section comprises a
comparing unit operable to compare said registered position with a
stored position associated with product information; and a
providing unit operable to provide product information if said
comparing unit determines that said registered position matches
with said stored position.
14. System for obtaining information relating to a product to be
reproduced by an electronic device, comprising means for displaying
at least one image to a user by a display section of said
electronic device; means for selecting a product by registering a
position on said display section associated with said product; and
means for retrieving product information from a storage section
using said registered position.
15. System for obtaining information relating to a product,
comprising an electronic device for obtaining information relating
to a product, comprising a display section operable to display
images to a user of said electronic device; an input interface
operable to register a position on said display section associated
with said product selected by said user; and a communication
section adapted to transmit said registered position to a server
comprising a storage section storing product information and to
receive product information from said server using said registered
position, and the server of claim 11.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a method for obtaining
information relating to a product, an electronic device, a server
and a system related thereto, and in particular to obtaining
product information of a product selected by a user from a picture
or movie.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In new media, such as the internet, advertising plays a
major role, since users are often not willing to pay for content.
Although it is very easy to obtain information in today's
information society, a lot of it is actually not desired by a user,
such as the user of the internet. Advertising banners and pop-ups
are a common form of advertisement but also often annoying to the
user so that several browsers are available that enable the
blocking of pop-ups or banners.
[0003] On the other hand, a more interesting and subtle form of
advertising, so-called product placement, was introduced, in which
a product and its characteristics are highlighted in an environment
which is not expected to be related to an advertisement. For
example, the super hero in a movie drives a specific car or uses a
specific electronic gadget to save the world. However, since this
type of advertisement is not very pushy, the user's attention to
that product will not last much longer than to the end of the
movie. Therefore, to achieve an advertisement effect at all, the
brand has to be shown clearly, which is again pushy. Further, it is
difficult for the user to obtain more information about the product
when watching or listening to a movie, pictures or songs.
[0004] This is usually done at the end of the movie and at that
time the user may have forgotten already that she/he was interested
in the product.
[0005] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method, electronic
device, server and system that support a user in obtaining product
information easily and quickly.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A method and electronic device for obtaining information
relating to a product, as well as a server for providing product
information and a system for obtaining product information are
presented and defined in the independent claims. Advantageous
embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.
[0007] An embodiment of the invention provides a method for
obtaining information relating to a product to be reproduced by an
electronic device. The method comprises the steps of displaying at
least one image to a user by a display section of the electronic
device, selecting a product by registering a position on the
display section associated with a product, and retrieving product
information from a storage section using the registered position.
Accordingly, product information may be associated with a position
on the display section so that a user may easily obtain product
information by simply selecting a product based on its position on
the display section. Therefore, product information can be obtained
when watching or listening to a movie, pictures or songs,
respectively.
[0008] In one embodiment, the retrieving step of the method
comprises comparing the registered position with a previously
stored position associated with product information and providing
the product information to the user, if the comparing step
determines that the registered position matches with the stored
position. Accordingly, product information and a corresponding
position of the product in the picture or movie may be prestored in
a table of a database, for example, so as to enable a simple
position comparison to provide desired product information.
[0009] In one embodiment, the selecting step of the method
comprises registering the time of selection and the position on the
display section associated with the product. Further, the
retrieving step of the method may comprise comparing the registered
position and time with a previously stored position and time
associated with product information and providing the product
information to the user, if the comparing step determines that the
registered position and time match with the stored position and
time. Accordingly, a registered position and time are compared to a
stored position and time associated with product information so as
to provide a simple mechanism to retrieve desired product
information that may be provided to a user if a match in position
and time is determined.
[0010] In one embodiment, the displaying step of the method
comprises sequentially displaying a plurality of images to the
user. Accordingly, depending on the speed of subsequent images, a
slideshow or movie may be presented to the user and product
information may be extracted although a large number of images and
thus visual information exists.
[0011] In one embodiment, the method further comprises the step of
transmitting from the electronic device the registered position or
the registered position and time to a server including the storage
section. Accordingly, the method can be performed in a distributed
environment, in which position and/or time is registered at the
electronic device and transmitted to a server having a storage
section, such as a database in a database unit, in which product
information can be looked up. Therefore, a large amount of product
information that depends on a position, time and possibly on the
movie, picture or song, may be outsourced to a server connected via
a fixed line or a wireless network.
[0012] In one embodiment, the method comprises the step of
receiving at the electronic device the product information from a
server including the storage section. Accordingly, the electronic
device can be adapted to provide the user with product information
without having to store the product information in its storage so
that a large amount of product information can be outsourced to a
server being connected to the electronic device via a fixed line or
wireless network. Therefore, similar to the transmitting step
discussed above, also the receiving step may be performed via
wireless communication.
[0013] In one embodiment, the retrieved product information
comprises an internet address of a website featuring the product.
For example, the product may be ordered via the website.
Accordingly, product placement is efficiently connected with
product information and product ordering.
[0014] Another embodiment of the invention provides an electronic
device for obtaining information relating to a product. The
electronic device comprises a display section operable to display
images to a user of the electronic device, an input interface
operable to register a position on the display section associated
with the product selected by the user, and a communication section
adapted to transmit the registered position to a server comprising
a storage section storing product information and to receive
product information from the server using the registered position.
Accordingly, product information may be obtained by the user
directly with only one click or touch, for example, without having
to remember the product name.
[0015] Another embodiment of the invention provides a server for
providing information relating to a product. The server comprises a
receiving unit operable to receive a registered position from an
electronic device; a storage section operable to store product
information associated with a previously stored position; a
comparing unit operable to compare the received registered position
with the stored position associated with product information; and a
providing unit operable to provide product information from the
storage section if the comparing unit determines that the received
registered position matches with the stored position. Accordingly,
an information providing server may be used to outsource product
information that is demanded by a user of an electronic device,
wherein the desired product information is obtained by using a
registered position of a selected product.
[0016] Another embodiment of the invention provides a system for
obtaining information relating to a product to be reproduced by an
electronic device. The system comprises a display section operable
to display images to a user; an input interface operable to
register a position on the display section associated with a
product selected by the user; and a retrieving section operable to
retrieve product information from a storage section using the
registered position. Accordingly, a system is established to
provide a user with product information of a product shown in an
image or images, such as pictures or a movie, or heard in a
movie.
[0017] In one embodiment, the retrieving section of the system
comprises a comparing unit operable to compare the registered
position with a stored position associated with product
information; and a providing unit operable to provide product
information if the comparing unit determines that the registered
position matches with the stored position.
[0018] Another embodiment of the invention provides a system for
obtaining information relating to a product to be reproduced by an
electronic device, wherein the system comprises means for
displaying at least one image to a user by a display section of the
electronic device; means for selecting a product by registering a
position on the display section associated with a product; and
means for retrieving product information from a storage section
using the registered position.
[0019] In one embodiment the system comprises the above-described
electronic device and the above-described server.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] Embodiments of the invention will be described with respect
to the following appended figures.
[0021] FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C illustrate electronic devices and
elements thereof, wherein in FIG. 1A an electronic device in
general according to an embodiment of the invention is shown, in
FIG. 1B a specific example of an electronic device, namely a mobile
phone, according to a specific embodiment of the invention is shown
and in FIG. 1C a block diagram of the mobile phone is shown.
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for obtaining
information relating to a product according to an embodiment of the
invention.
[0023] FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate modifications of the flow diagram
of the method shown in FIG. 2 according to specific embodiments of
the invention.
[0024] FIG. 4 illustrates a server and elements thereof including a
storage section according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0025] FIG. 5 illustrates a system and elements thereof according
to an embodiment of the invention.
[0026] FIG. 6 illustrates a process of how the concept of the
invention may be applied.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0027] Embodiments of the invention are described with reference to
the figures. It is noted that the following description contains
examples only and should not be construed as limiting the
invention.
[0028] In the following, similar or same reference signs indicate
similar or same elements.
[0029] FIG. 1A illustrates elements of an electronic device
according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1A illustrates
particularly the electronic device 100 comprising a display section
110, an input interface 120 and a communication section 130.
[0030] The electronic device 100 may be a hand-held mobile device,
such as a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA) or
portable media player for watching movies, etc., but is not
necessarily limited to a mobile device so that the electronic
device may also constitute a desktop computer.
[0031] The display section 110 of the electronic device 100
displays images to a user of the electronic device 100. Preferably,
the display section is a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic
light emitting diode (OLED) display to display a picture showing a
product or to display multiple images in sequence, i.e. a movie. In
addition to the video capability of the display section 110, the
electronic device may also comprise audio capabilities, such as a
loudspeaker or a headphone connector to connect headphones to
listen to music or a sound of a movie.
[0032] The input interface 120 registers a position on the display
section 110 associated with a product selected by the user. As
described above, an image or multiple images on the display section
may comprise a representation of a product, i.e. an image of a
product, in which the user might be interested. The user may then
indicate her/his interest in the product by selecting the product
on the display section, for example by using a pointing device,
such as a mouse, a track ball or joystick or touch capabilities to
indicate the position of the product of interest on the display
section 110. For example, the display section 110 and the input
interface 120 may be realized by a touch screen device combining
both functions, namely displaying an image and allowing an input
operation on top of the image so that a specific part of the image,
e.g. showing a product, may be selected.
[0033] When the product is selected by the user, the position of
the product and indicated by the user is registered by the input
interface 120. For example, the x,y-coordinates of the position on
the display are registered.
[0034] The communication section 130 transmits the registered
position to a database unit, such as a server comprising a storage
section for storing product information, and receives product
information from the database unit using the registered position.
For example, which will be described in more detail below, the
storage section may include a table in which product information
and corresponding position information is stored and if a
registered position is received, the registered position, such as
its x,y-coordinates, is compared to the stored positions, such as
their x,y-coordinates, and if there is a match between the
positions, namely a stored position and the registered position,
the product information corresponding to said stored position is
retrieved.
[0035] It is understood that the communication section may also be
represented by a combination of a receiving section and a
transmitting section to fulfil the functions described with respect
to FIG. 1A.
[0036] In FIG. 1B, an example of an electronic device is presented.
In this example, the electronic device is a mobile phone 100' with
a touch screen device 140 and a loudspeaker 150. A block diagram of
the mobile phone is presented in FIG. 1C in which a controller of
the mobile phone is connected to a touch screen and a RAM and a
baseband chip (BB-chip) that is in turn connected to a radio
frequency chip (RF-chip) so that the controller controls the
functions of the mobile phone.
[0037] In the example of FIG. 1B, a car, a tree and a note are
displayed on the touch screen device 140 which constitutes a
combination of a display section and an input interface. If the
user is interested in more information on the car, the user may
then select the car by touching it with a finger or a stylus and
the touch screen device 140 registers the position on the display
of the touch screen device associated with the product.
[0038] The controller of the mobile phone forwards the data of the
registered position to the baseband chip and the baseband data is
then modulated on a carrier wave in order to be transmitted via
radio by the radio frequency-chip. This radio transmission may then
be received by a database unit, such as the server 400 of FIG. 4
that comprises a storage section from which product information may
be retrieved using the data of the registered position. The
corresponding product information may then be sent back to the
mobile phone, received via the RF-chip and BB-chip and then stored
in the RAM or displayed on the touch screen device.
[0039] When a picture or movie is shown on the touch screen device
140, there may be also sound, such as music, playing which can be
heard through the loudspeaker 150, for example. If the user is
interested in more information on the music or in buying the piece
of music, the user may simply click or touch on the note in the
upper right corner and the mobile phone connects to the server and
the information on the piece of music is retrieved from the storage
section in the server and/or the piece of music is downloaded and
stored in the RAM or other memory of the mobile phone, for example,
in a folder with the same name as the movie.
[0040] Instead of displaying a note somewhere on the display, it is
also feasible to define a certain position as the position
corresponding to information on music playing. Therefore, for
example, the lower left corner may be predefined as the position,
and when pressed the music which is playing is retrieved.
[0041] It is understood that in the above example network traffic
is generated between the mobile phone and the server when
information about the product or the product itself, in the case of
music, is downloaded, thereby creating a new form of advertising
and sales channel.
[0042] Before describing the server 400 of FIG. 4 in more detail,
operations performed in the electronic device and in conjunction
with the server are presented.
[0043] FIG. 2 illustrates operations of a method for obtaining
information relating to a product to be reproduced by an electronic
device, such as the electronic device which is described with
respect to FIGS. 1A and 1B. To be more specific, the reproduced
product may actually be a representation of a product, wherein the
product may be a tangible or intangible product, such as a car or
music.
[0044] In a first step 210, at least one image is displayed to a
user. Displaying can be performed by a display section of the
electronic device shown in FIG. 1A, which comprises a display
section 110, an input interface 120 and a communication section
130.
[0045] Subsequently in step 220, as shown in FIG. 2, a product is
selected by registering a position on the display section
associated with a product. For example, the product, i.e. an image
or representation of the product, is shown in an image displayed by
the display section and the user uses a mouse, a track ball or
other pointing device to indicate the position on the display
section corresponding to the shown product. For example, the
display section may be configured to allow for operation as input
interface, such as a touch screen device which is described in more
detail above.
[0046] In step 230 product information, such as the name of the
displayed picture, movie or piece of music, etc., is retrieved from
a storage section using the previously registered position.
Therefore, product information can be obtained and provided to the
user using the registered position.
[0047] For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the retrieving step of
FIG. 2 comprises or may be replaced by comparing the registered
position with previously stored position associated with product
information, as shown in FIG. 3A, step 330, and by providing the
product information to the user, if the comparing step 330
determines that the registered position matches with the stored
position, as shown in step 340.
[0048] As shown in FIG. 3A, the process flow goes from step 330 to
step 340 if there is a match between the positions and returns to
step 320, which is the step for selecting a product by registering
a position, if there is no match. In one example, instead of
returning to step 320, it is also possible that if there is no
match, the process returns to the displaying step 210 described in
FIG. 2 so that a new image may be displayed, as for example done in
a movie.
[0049] In another example described with respect to FIG. 3B, the
retrieving step 230 may comprise or be replaced by steps 330' and
340' of FIG. 3B and the selecting step 220 may be replaced by the
selecting step 320'.
[0050] In detail, as described in FIG. 2, one or more images are
displayed to a user in a first step, and the user selects a
product. As indicated in step 320', the product in FIG. 3B is
selected by registering the time of selection and the position on
the display section associated with a product. For registering the
time of selection, a time stamp with the current time may be used,
which is in particular appropriate for movies, since the position
of the product will change in time. In movies, the time stamp may
indicate the point in time calculated from the start of the movie.
This time is usually readily available in movie files in the
MPEG-format.
[0051] In step 330', following step 320' the registered position
and time is compared with a previously stored position and time
associated with product information. Similar to FIG. 3A, the
process flow advances to step 340', if a match is determined and
product information is provided to the user. In other words,
product information is provided to the user, if the comparing step
330' determines that the registered position and time match with
the stored position and time.
[0052] As shown in FIG. 3B, if there is no match, the process flow
returns to step 320' and another position at a different point in
time can be selected. If a plurality of images is sequentially
displayed, at different points in time, a different product may be
at the same position so that the user may select a different
product by registering the same or different position at a later
time.
[0053] As described above, the selection of a product may be
performed by either a pointing device, such as a mouse, a track
ball, etc., such as commonly known from a desktop computer, or may
be selected by touching a certain position of a touch screen
device. In both cases, the registered position may include
x,y-coordinates corresponding to the pressed or clicked location,
optionally also polar coordinates may be used.
[0054] The x,y-coordinates may then be compared to previously
stored positions, i.e. previously stored x,y-coordinates which are
associated with product information.
[0055] For example, if a specific car is presented in a movie, the
coordinates or range of coordinates (since the car is usually
presented with a specific size on the display device) are stored
together with the time at which the car is at the stored
coordinates in a database. Then, when a product is selected and a
position and a specific time of selection are registered, the
registered position and time are compared to the stored positions
and times and it is determined whether a match exists.
[0056] In this context, it should be noted that there are different
ways of matching and matching does not have to necessarily be
understood as a one-to-one correspondence between registered
position and time and stored position and time, since also small
deviations in the position should be allowed due to the accuracy of
the registered data and the stored data. Therefore, a match may
also be determined when the registered and stored position are
slightly different, e.g. by 10%.
[0057] Since the position of a product on the display section may
be dependent on the kind of display section having different
resolutions, registering the model of the electronic device, which
specifies also the display section, may be advantageous so that
this criterion could also be used together with the position and
time to retrieve desired product information accurately. Similarly,
the name of the picture or movie which is shown on the electronic
device should be registered and also used for retrieving product
information.
[0058] Furthermore, several electronic devices, in particular
portable electronic devices, such as smart phones, allow to view
pictures or movies either in the landscape format or when tilted in
a portrait format so that also the format change may introduce a
size change thus changing the position of the product on the
display section so that it may be desirable to register this
information and provide this information to retrieve product
information which will be described in the following in more
detail.
[0059] In the following, a server for providing information
relating to a product is described with respect to FIG. 4. The
server 400 of FIG. 4 comprises a receiving unit 410, a storage
section 420, a comparing unit 430, and a providing unit 440. In
brief, the server basically functions as a database unit storing
product information and associated positions and compares received
registered positions with stored positions to provide desired
product information.
[0060] In detail, the receiving unit 410 receives a registered
position from an electronic device, such as electronic device 100
or 100'. More specifically, the received registered position may be
received in form of position data or position information
indicating x,y-coordinates of a display section on which a picture
or movie is shown.
[0061] The storage section 420 stores product information
associated with a previously stored position. In the example of
FIG. 1B product information may include characteristics of the car
shown in FIG. 1B, such as horse power, cylinders, top speed and
price, wherein this product information is associated with the
position of the car in the image. To be more specific, before
displaying the picture with the car and the tree to a user on a
mobile device, the position of the car is stored together with
product information in the storage section. Since the car in the
picture has a certain extent, the stored position may be a position
range, i.e. a plurality of positions, such as x, y-coordinates,
covered by the car.
[0062] The comparing unit 430 compares the received registered
position with the stored position or stored positions associated
with the product information.
[0063] If the comparing unit 430 determines that the received
registered position matches with a stored position, the providing
unit 440 provides the corresponding product information from the
storage section 420 to the electronic device, e.g. electronic
device 100.
[0064] Similar to the discussion with respect to FIG. 1B, the
product information may be transmitted via wireless communication
from the server and be received by the electronic device.
[0065] As discussed above, the electronic device transmits the
registered position or the registered position and time, for
example in the case of a movie, to the server. These transmissions
of the electronic device and the server may be performed via
wireless communication, such as the UMTS, GPRS, GSM, WLAN,
Bluetooth, etc.
[0066] In the following, a system for obtaining information
relating to a product is described with respect to FIG. 5. The
system 500 shown in FIG. 5 comprises a display section 514, an
input interface 516 and a retrieving section 535.
[0067] The display section 514 and input interface 516 are adapted
to display images to a user and register a position on the display
section associated with a product selected by the user,
respectively, and thus their functions are the similar to the
functions of the display section 110 and the input interface 120 or
the touch screen device 140 described in FIGS. 1A and 1B and a more
detailed explanation is omitted to avoid unnecessary repetition.
The display section 514 and the interface 516 may be placed in an
electronic device 510, such as a mobile phone, or one of the
above-described electronic devices.
[0068] The retrieving section 535 retrieves product information
from a storage section using the registered position. The
retrieving section 535 may also be placed in the electronic device
510, however, the retrieving section is preferably placed in a
server comprising the storage section and since the storage section
may comprise vast amounts of data relating to several pictures and
movies and product information of products shown in the pictures
and movies as well as associated positions of the products in the
movies, the amount of data is large and it is desirable that the
retrieving section 535 and the storage section are placed in a
remote server 530 that may communicate with the electronic device
510. Accordingly, it is not necessary to keep all information of
the database on the electronic device 510 and the electronic device
510 only needs to provide the server 530 with the position
information and if necessary, such as in a movie, time information
and receives in turn product information as indicated in FIG.
5.
[0069] The retrieving section 535 may be realized by a comparing
unit and a providing unit, wherein the comparing unit compares the
registered position with a stored position associated with product
information and the providing unit provides product information if
the comparing unit determines that the registered position matches
with the stored position. Therefore, the comparing unit and the
providing unit are basically the same as the comparing unit 430 and
the providing unit 440 described with respect to FIG. 4.
[0070] The display section 514 may basically serve as means for
displaying at least one image to a user and the input interface may
serve as means for selecting a product by registering a position on
the display section associated with a product. Further, the
retrieving section 535 may serve as means for retrieving product
information from the storage section using the registered
position.
[0071] As became clear from the above, the storage section 420 of
the server 400 should be able to store a large amount of data
relating to a plurality of movies and/or pictures, wherein products
featured in the movies or pictures are associated with position
information, such as x, y-coordinates and time stamps. Furthermore,
since different displays can be used in electronic devices and
pictures or movies may be viewed in either landscape or portrait
format by tilting the electronic device by ninety degrees, the
registered position may be dependent on the display and format used
so that in addition to the registered position and the time stamp,
if applicable, also the model of the electronic device or the
display and format used as well as the name of the movie or picture
should be transmitted to the server 400. In the server, a
controller may be provided to calculate from the registered
position depending on the model and format a global registered
position independent on the model and the format which is then
compared to stored positions for the individual picture or movie
viewed.
[0072] Therefore, maintaining and managing the server, and in
particular the storage section 420 is a complicated task that may
be distributed to different entities. For example, a tool may be
provided to manufacturers of the products shown in a movie to let
them store product information of their product and positions and
time stamps of their product in a predefined way. This information
may then be transferred to the storage section. In this way, the
manufacturers may acquire storage space in the storage section 420
so that the product information can get to the user.
[0073] Alternatively, also the network operator or any other
entity, such as a film distributor, may control, manage and update
the storage section 420.
[0074] The following example summarizes the above-described
operations which are explained with respect to FIG. 6.
[0075] In slide 1 an image is shown on a touch screen device of a
mobile phone and a user touches with a finger on the touch display,
which is indicated by the white cross. Thereby, the user indicates
her/his interest in the camera held by the person in the image. The
position of the white cross is registered and also, if applicable,
the time at which the touch display was touched, and a time stamp
and the position of the white cross in the x, y-direction (polar
coordinates are also possible) are sent to a database unit, such as
the server described with respect to FIG. 4.
[0076] Alternatively, the position and time stamp may also be
stored in a favourite list from which product information can be
obtained at a later stage.
[0077] The computer shown in slide 2 represents a database server
which is connected to a base station acquiring position and time
information wirelessly from the mobile device.
[0078] As shown in slide 3 the database server sends product
information wirelessly from the database unit back to the mobile
phone together with an internet address. The internet address is an
internet address of a website featuring the product, and once this
internet address is obtained at the electronic device, as shown in
slide 4, the touch display of the electronic device loads the
corresponding website featuring the product previously touched. In
a subsequent step, the same product may be ordered via the
website.
[0079] The above description has mentioned several individual
elements, such as the display section, input interface,
communication section, controllers, receiving unit, storage
section, comparing unit, providing unit and retrieving section, and
it should be understood that the invention is not limited to these
elements being independent structural units but these elements
should be understood as elements comprising different
functions.
[0080] In other words, it is understood by the skilled person that
an element in the above-described embodiments is not construed as
being limited to a separate tangible part but it is understood as a
kind of functional entity so that several functions may also be
provided in one tangible part or even where an element, such as the
controller of the electronic device or the controller of the server
or the communication section, performs several functions, these
functions may be distributed to different parts. In particular, the
display section and input interface may be realized by one element,
namely by a touch screen device and the communication section may
be realized by two elements, namely a baseband chip and a
radio-frequency chip.
[0081] Moreover, physical entities according to the invention
and/or its embodiments and examples may comprise or store computer
programs including instructions such that, when the computer
programs are executed on the physical entities, such as the
controller of the electronic device including a processor, CPU or
similar, steps, procedures and functions of these elements are
carried out according to embodiments of the invention. For example,
the controller controls the display section 110 to display a
picture and forwards a registered position to the communication
section and controls the communication section 130 to transmit the
registered position.
[0082] Accordingly, specially programmed software can be used to be
run on a processor, e.g. contained in the controller, to control
the above-described functions, wherein the software may be stored
in the RAM in the case of the electronic device of FIGS. 1A to 1C.
Similarly, the controller of the server 400 may also contain a
processor on which software is run to carry out functions of the
elements of the server, such as the functions of the comparing unit
430.
[0083] The invention also relates to computer programs for carrying
out functions of the elements, such as the method steps described
with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3.
[0084] The above-described elements of the electronic devices 100,
100', 510 and servers 400 and 530 may be implemented in hardware,
software, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),
application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), firmware or the
combinations thereof.
[0085] It will be appreciated that various modifications and
variations can be made in the described elements, electronic
devices, servers, systems and methods as well as in the
construction of this invention without departing from the scope or
spirit of the invention. The invention has been described in
relation to particular embodiments which are intended in all
aspects to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Those skilled
in the art will appreciate that many different combinations of
hardware, software and firmware are suitable for practising the
invention.
[0086] Moreover, other implementations of the invention will be
apparent to the skilled person from consideration of the
specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is
intended that the specification and the examples are considered as
exemplary only. To this end, it is to be understood that inventive
aspects may lie in less than all features of the single foregoing
disclosed implementation or configuration. Thus, the true scope and
spirit of the invention is indicated by the following claims.
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